Recent Media Coverage of The Bonaventure Quartet
Creative Loafing, May 20-27, 2008
"The Bonaventure Quartet gives a breath of fresh air to classic jazz and swing sensibilities with a strong but elegant Gypsy flare. Django Reinhardt worship with a touch of camp gives BVQ's blend of ballroom jazz a subtle sense of humor"
"With the sultry, silky voice of former Lost Continentals front woman Amy Pike and the gypsy-jazz flavored guitar of Charles Williams, Bonaventure is a marvelous melting pot. They add Southern sass to the smokey jazz of Parisian cabarets between the world wars on their new album, "the Secret Seduction of the Grand Pompadour". -Shane Harrison.
Georgia Music Magazine, Spring Issue 2008 and INsite's April issue, 2008:
The Bonaventure Quartet- The Secret Seduction of the Grand Pompadour (Self
Released)
Chances are you’ve never heard a band quite like the Bonaventure Quartet. Like
the Squirrel Nut Zippers before them, the misnomered sextet is steeped in the
old-time jazz your grandparents may well have listened to in their youth. But
where that Carolina act tended to serve up Dixieland and Ragtime with a healthy
dose of camp, the Bonaventure Quartet tackles Django Reinhardt’s Continental
jazz with a warm sense of reverence that reeks of authenticity.
The group began as an acoustic trio, but it’s hard to imagine them being this
good without veteran vocalist Amy Pike, former frontwoman for swing band The
Lost Continentals. The orchestral opening of “The March of the Grand Pompadour”
showcases guitarist Charles Williams’ (a founding member of Aquarium Rescue
Unit) classical compositional influences, but it’s when Pike’s rich vocals
intertwine with Williams and Dave Boling’s strummed guitars and Don Erdman’s
smooth clarinet on the frisky “The World’s Greatest Lover” that the album
really comes alive. “The Scene Of You” proves the band can deliver a torch
ballad with just as much personality as their swing, with Pike lamenting,
“What can I say, you had it coming/What with the way you ran around/And who in
the world could blame this sweet little girl/Besides, I didn’t leave any clues
at the scene of you.”
And so it goes throughout this fantastic 15-track LP, moving from gypsy-style
jazz (“The Heat Below”) and Argentinian tango (“Moonlight Falling”) to
klezmer influences (“Ou Est Pepe Lopez”) and sultry blues (“Lily’s On
The Prowl”) with equal aplomb. Since each of these seasoned veterans seems to
have their own side gigs, I’m guessing the Bonaventure Quartet doesn’t play
out all that often. Which makes it all the more essential for jazz fans to catch
them when they do. – BRET LOVE
' Django Reinhardt and the
Illustrated History of Gypsy Jazz'
by Michael Dregni with Alain
Antonietto and Anne Legrand
(SpeckPress)2006
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In this book, which will become one of the few academic resources on Django Reinhardt and the style of music he created, the Bonaventure Quartet has been profiled as one of the groups in America that is helping to keep this music vibrant!
Wow! We like what we do, but when a scholarly publication recognizes your efforts, well.....We're still blushing!
Available at bookstores and Amazon.com
Vintage Guitar
"Atlanta's Bonaventure Quartet offers
a fascinating amalgam of classic jazz, western swing,
and plenty of originals -
all arranged and played with the inspiration of Django Reinhardt."
Michael Dregni
(August 2005)
Read the full text of the review here.
Creative Loafing:
......for a hoot we played
Christmas night 2005 at the Earl with friends.. opening for Patterson Hood of
Drive By Truckers fame....Charles played his Strat, Kris played pedal steel, Amy
strummed her Martin and Hammer (from the Lost Continentals) played drums.
Steve (from the Monkey Butlers) played upright.
Sound Menu Column (JK, 12/22/2005)
"The real holiday treat tonight is a rare homecoming by songbird Amy
Pike who revives the Last Cold Beer to close up the honky tonk once
more."
Bonaventure Quartet w/ Amy Pike and Charlie Williams by Roni Sarig
(12/25/2002)
"Actually a five-piece, with the addition of moonlighting country
vocalist Amy Pike, the Bonaventure Quartet has quietly honed its
continental jazz chops during weekly gigs at Eclipse di Luna. The
group's new CD, Blue Rendezvous, was recorded live in the studio with
no overdubs, and as such showcases Bonaventure's true sound --
inspired primarily by Django's gypsy jazz, but also veering toward torch
songs and pre-rock pop. "
Zen, Gypsies and Maternity Leave by Amy McDaniel
(8/28/2002)
Sense and sensibility, restraint and passion. Guitarist-composer Charles
Williams maneuvers expertly between these poles when playing with the
Bonaventure Quartet, his all-acoustic jazz outfit. He disciplines his spirit
with Zen Buddhism, a practice integral to his music. "Moments of music
begin to sing to you and you become the song," he says. more....